Page 6 of Wicked Obsession

“Sarah.”

No response. “Sarah?”

As Langley watched Sarah’s reflection in the mirror, she saw something in her friend’s eyes that frightened her. “Sarah!”

“I’m sorry. I was woolgathering.” Her friend smiled, but it looked forced.

Woolgathering? Not a chance. “Sarah, for God’s sake, what’s going on?” When her friend did nothing but stare back at her, Langley took a deep breath and forged on. “Something is really wrong here. You tense every time Mitch comes near you. You haven’t invited a single guest. You didn’t even inviteme.” Leaning forward, she took the fabric of the wedding dress between her fingers. “This isn’t your mother’s wedding gown, and you’ve had your heart set on wearing that since I’ve known you. What’s going on? Don’t tell me nothing. Iknowyou. Everything about this wedding is wrong.”

The panic and pain that flashed across her friend’s face made Langley feel horrible about pushing, but it also told her she was right to do it. Sarah couldn’t marry Mitch. “I’m your friend, you can tell me anything.”

“I can’t.” The words sounded raw, Sarah’s voice almost a croak.

Shaking her head at how slow she’d been to figure it out, Langley asked, “Is Mitch forcing youto go through with this because of something Sean did?” Another epiphany struck. “Is he using drugs again?”

Sarah didn’t answer, but she didn’t need to. When her friend had made bad decisions for herself in the past it had always been because of her brother. “You can’t keep sacrificing yourself for Sean, Sarah. You’ve put him first since your parents died. He’s what? Twenty, now? Twenty-one? Either way, he’s an adult. It’s time for him to take responsibility for his own actions and accept the consequences for whatever he did.”

“I know, but this time it’s different.”

Before Langley had a chance to rebut that, the door burst open and crashed into the wall. She jumped, teetered precariously on her heels before regaining her balance, and stared at the man who’d entered. He was gaunt, almost emaciated, his blond hair was thinning, and—Langley tensed—the expression in his eyes seemed crazed.

“Can I help you?” Sarah said, sounding amazingly calm.

“You’re Sarah? Mitch’s bride?” The questions were hurried.

“Mitch? You must have the wrong wedding facility.”

He pulled out a large gun. “Right.” He snorted. “Then why are there so many of his fucking SEAL mates down below?”

Langley’s gaze sharpened, and she pushed aside her fear. Think first, feel later—when it was safe. They wouldn’t be able to get past him, not when he stood squarely in front of the door, and if the crash hadn’t brought someone running to see what had happened, she doubted anyone would hear a scream. The Wedding Knot might be rundown, but it was solidly built, and the chapel and guests were on the other side of the building, as far away from the bride’s room as they could be.

“What’s this about?” Sarah asked. The barrel of the gun pointed directly at her and Langley’s breath caught in her throat.

“This is about Mitch refusing to pay me what he owes me. This is about me, using you, to make sure I get my half of the cut.” He looked at her, eyes wide, fevered. “And her, too. Hell, two broads is better than one.”

She’d known Mitch was bad news.Knownit, damn it.

“I want you to head toward the door. Slowly. Out in the hall, go right, toward the back stairs.” The wild-eyed man moved closer. “I’m a fucking good shot. If you try to run, you’ll be dead before you take your second step.”

As Sarah tried to negotiate with him, Langley silently cursed. Rule number one—never, ever, under any circumstance, leave the primary location with a bad guy. The secondary location wasalways worse for the victim. The advice was to run in a zigzag, that the odds of a shooter hitting something vital were small.

Only she couldn’t run.

Not only did her raspberry-colored shoes sport skyscraper heels, but her dress was mermaid cut with a court train. It had never occurred to her when she’d bought the gown that she might get kidnapped for the second time in her life, especially when most of the wedding guests were US Navy SEALs.

It didn’t take a genius to guess that the gunman didn’t want to leave any witnesses behind and that was why he was taking her along with Sarah. She was extraneous, an unneeded complication. How long would he allow her to live after they left the wedding facility?

“Get real, lady,” the man said, ending the conversation. “We’re going down the back stairs to the car I have stashed below. Your bridesmaid is going to drive, while you and I ride in the backseat with my buddy Mr. Sig Sauer here.” He waved the gun enough to make his point. “After we’re holed up, all nice and friendly, I’ll call your husband-to-be, tell him the wedding’s been postponed. If he wants you back, he’ll bring me my half of the cut. Now move.”

Sarah reached out and clutched her hand and Langley returned the squeeze, trying to offer herreassurance, but they were in deep trouble. Mitch wasn’t going to pay any ransom—there wasn’t a doubt in her mind on that. Her father would cover whatever the amount was, but Langley wasn’t certain she should mention it.

“Leave it.” The man shoved Sarah forward when she tried to grab her purse, and Langley frowned. Her hope had been that someone would ping the GPS on their phones and locate them that way, but they were going to be forced to leave those behind.

“Move faster,” he ordered her sharply.

“Sir.” Langley took a deep breath and played up the Kiwi in her accent, hoping he’d mistake it for British. Many Americans unconsciously respected someone who spoke in an Oxford English voice. “I’m afraid my shoes make hurrying difficult.” Reaching for the fabric below her knees, she raised her skirt to her ankles, letting him see her incredibly stupid stiletto heels.

“Take ‘em off.”

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